And the hits keep coming, with all Avatar sequels now being delayed by a year. Fans won’t get to see the adventure continue on Pandora in Avatar 2 until 2022.
The pandemic has had a significant impact on the cinema market with massive film delays and movie theaters across the world being shut down for months. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has long been planning to be the film that brought people back to the movie theaters, but Warner Bros. recently removed the film from their release schedule, delaying it indefinitely. Following Warner Bros. announcement, Disney has now made a similar decision.
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A number of their upcoming films are being delayed, including the live-action Mulan, which would have been the first big studio tent pole film to hit theaters following the indefinite delay of Tenet. Mulan has now been removed from Disney’s release schedule with no new date announced. This move isn’t all together surprising given the fact that it doesn’t look like theaters will be opening up soon. Disney has also pushed back the untitled Star Wars films by a year, with the first originally set to hit theaters in December 2022 and now planned to be released in December 2023.
Not only will Mulan and the future Star Wars films be delayed, but all of the Avatar sequels have been pushed back a year meaning fans won’t get the chance to see Pandora on the big screen until 2022. With Avatar 2 moving from December 17, 2021 to December 16, 2022.
Avatar Sequels New Release Dates
- Avatar 2 previously being released Dec. 17, 2021 now moving to Dec. 16, 2022
- Avatar 3 previously being released Dec. 22, 2023 now moving to Dec. 20, 2024
- Avatar 4 previously being released Dec. 19, 2025 now moving to Dec. 18, 2026
- Avatar 5 previously being released Dec. 17, 2027 now moving to Dec. 22, 2028
Fans will undoubtedly be disappointed about these delays, especially since production started back up in New Zealand not long ago. Many probably assumed this meant that the films were going to stay on track for their previously announced release dates. James Cameron is especially disappointed by this news as he shares in a letter he wrote to fans and posted on the Official Avatar Twitter.
Cameron explains in the letter that while they have been able to start live-action production in New Zealand following a delay due to COVID-19, whilet there are other aspects of production that have still been put on hold.
“What most of you likely do not know is that the pandemic is still preventing us from being allowed to recommence most of our virtual production work on stages in Los Angeles. That work is just as critical to the films as the live action work.”
Cameron developed new technology in order to bring his vision of Pandora and the story of Avatar to fruition. The virtual production has always been a huge part of the making of Avatar and the breath-taking visuals that have come to be expected. The delay in release to accommodate this aspect of production which is still on hold makes sense.
“There is no one more disappointed about this delay than me. But I am buoyed by the incredible performances of our cast and the extraordinary work that Weta Digital is doing bringing the world of Pandora and the characters of the film to life.”
Cameron is clearly invested in sharing more of the world of Pandora and his disappointment is understandable given that fans who have been waiting for over a decade and will have to wait a little longer.
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In May, it was revealed that the sequel will follow the family of Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri as they travel around and explore new parts of Pandora with many of the new locations being underwater. Fans may have to wait a bit longer to see Cameron’s science fiction epic, but given that they have already waited for over a decade another year shouldn’t be too much trouble. Especially knowing that there are multiple sequels in the Disney pipeline.
Avatar 2 is set to hit theaters December 16, 2022. Are you disappointed the Avatar sequels will be delayed? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media.
Source: ComicBook.com
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